Lunar Phases and Ocean Tides
by dreamingfate
Summary: Kakashi and Iruka gradually become more attached to one-another whilst trying to keep their affair a secret. Written as Hon3ypie. Continues from Affairs by Moonlight. Kakashi/Iruka. Explicit yaoi.


**Lunar Phases and Ocean Tides**

**1. Under Suspicion (Conspiracy)**

As he rose gently from the depths of sleep he lingered in the soft enveloping pinkness of that place between sleeping and waking, knowing only that he was blissfully comfortable and content. Iruka slowly opened his eyes to the world, allowing them to adjust to the light filtering through the curtains as he moved to stretch. Something heavy prevented him, and wrenched him into reality.

_Kakashi-sensei…_

The other man was still fitfully asleep, and took a fair deal of shaking to rouse. Kakashi rubbed his eyes and stretched his legs out before he suddenly realised why Iruka had woken him so roughly.

"Shit. What time is it?" He asked sleepily.

Iruka leant off the bed and fumbled around through the clothes for his watch.

"A little after 8," He replied. "There shouldn't be too many people around outside yet."

Kakashi lifted off the covers and sprang out of bed naked, stalking over to the window and peering outside through a gap in the curtains.

"It'll probably be best I go from here." He said, without turning around. "Less of a chance anyone will see."

Iruka stood and hurriedly sorted through the clothes on the bedroom floor before remembering there would also be some in the hall, which Kakashi collected.

"We have to be more careful about this," Iruka warned as Kakashi began to dress, watching him as he pulled on fabrics that sat tight against his muscular body and becoming suddenly aware of the fact he was still naked. Kakashi parted the curtains again to check for passers-by before turning to the other man and fighting hard against what his body demanded in the presence of a naked lover, kissing him only gently on the lips. When Iruka kissed him back forcefully the fragile façade broke down, victim to urgent and eager wandering hands.

"You have to go," Iruka told him, with an unconvincing shove against his broad chest.

"Your body wants something very different, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi spoke into the nape of Iruka's neck.

"I know…but please leave." He wrestled himself free of Kakashi's hands and motioned towards the window. "We're risking enough as it is."

Kakashi reached through the curtains and pushed the window open, letting in a delicate breeze. He pulled Iruka in for another deep kiss before finally pulling his mask up and jumping discretely to the rooftop from the windowsill. He crouched there until he was sure no one had seen his hasty exit, then sped back to his own flat for a cold shower. Iruka did the same.

Later, as Iruka was walking back from a hard day's teaching, Kakashi stopped him in the street for what seemed to casual observers like an innocuous conversation. As they talked, he secretly slipped a note into Iruka's pocket detailing a meeting time and place for that evening, then took his leave.

Neither the note nor their overly pallid exchange had gone entirely unnoticed.

Iruka knocked briskly at Kakashi's door, smiling broadly as it opened and he was welcomed inside. The curtains had all been drawn, and the only sign of life inside the house was flickering candlelight. _How odd to use candlelight and not electric lights,_ The ANBU woman thought to herself as she concealed her shape and her chakra against the silhouette of a huge tree. It would certainly be difficult to cook for a friend by candlelight. She furrowed her brows underneath her mask and waited patiently, scrutinising every detail of the scene in front of her. As expected, it was many hours before Iruka emerged wearing a very different smile, apparently carrying nothing. The woman strained her eyes to get a better look in the darkness as a moment passed between the two where no verbal exchange was needed. _I was right, there is something suspicious here… _She melted into the tree and reappeared by her kneeled squad, standing tall in her black cloak.

"I want them watched." She said simply, in measured tones. "Hatake Kakashi is ex-ANBU, so no fucking around."

The pair were closely but discretely observed for the next week until the ANBU leader considered there to be enough evidence to warrant further investigation. Their meetings were organised, regular and often extended into the small hours of the morning; when they consorted in public there was an air of secrecy; and many notes had passed between them (it annoyed the woman to know that she had been unable to recover even one of them). From what she could tell there were no other parties involved, but she was in no doubt that they were conspiring to some end. As she emerged from the walls of the Hokage's office, the two jounins in deep discussion with Tsunade gave the woman a startled look before swiftly making their exit.

Tsunade looked at her through narrowed lids. "I hate it when you do that."

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama." The woman said with a deep bow. "But I have important news. My squad has gathered intelligence that suggests there is something happening between Umino Iruka and Hatake Kakashi."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "That's hardly a matter for ANBU," She said.

"I suggest that we act immediately Tsunade-sama!" The ANBU said, perplexed.

"Act how, exactly?" Tsunade asked, bridging her fingers over her paperwork.

"Increased surveillance and detention or questioning if necessary."

The Hokage rocked back in her chair and regarded the disguised woman with disgusted contempt. "Their relationship is a private matter, and you will leave it as such. It is certainly no cause for any of the ridiculous measures you've already taken nor the ones you suggest." She said as she stood to look the woman levelly in the eye. "You will do well to remember not to meddle in other people's private affairs in future."

The woman shifted from one foot to the other.

"Affair…relationship..?" She repeated, tilting her head a fraction.

Tsunade's body relaxed. "You miscalculated this one quite spectacularly." She snorted, laying her hands on her hips. The woman bowed deeply again before leaving the Hokage's office the way she'd arrived. Later, she assigned her squad a different task.

**2. By His Request**

Iruka leaned against the hallway wall impatiently tapping his heel on the wooden floor drawing small creaks of complaint, as his fingers absently adjusted his hitai-ate and smoothed down unkempt strands of hair.

He started to wonder what was taking the other man so long to arrive, then considered if he'd been too hasty in calling him round in the first place. He reacted as though prodded by hot pokers when there was a gentle knock at the door, and took a second to compose himself before reaching for the door handle and twisting it. Kakashi greeted him with a masked smile and a polite nod, stepping inside. He stood in the entrance way and eyed the other man calmly.

"What did you want, Iruka-sensei?" He asked.

Iruka said nothing, instead looking away in embarrassment. Kakashi read his mood, pocketing his hands and tilting his head back slightly.

"You called me over, but you're too embarrassed to ask for it?" He said.

"I'm fine!" Iruka protested.

"Then I'll ask you again," Kakashi said softly, pulling his mask down as he moved closer. "What do you want, Iruka-sensei?"

Kakashi's expression forced a deep blush over Iruka's face, and this time he found himself unable to look away. The jounin turned back to the door.

"If you don't ask for it I can't do it, Iruka." He said over his shoulder, reaching for the handle.

"Wait..!" Iruka said, catching him by the shoulder of his vest. "You know what I want…"

Kakashi kept his back to the chuunin.

"Tell me."

"Blow me."

Kakashi turned to Iruka, who was wearing the expression of someone who had finally given in to the heat and desire flooding his body. He made no hesitations, no inefficient moves as he forced him to the floor and stripped his lower half.

"Pervert," Iruka told him, his arms obscuring his face.

"You're the one that asked for it," Kakashi retorted, teasing Iruka's erection. He pulled off his gloves and hitai-ate, dropping them by Iruka's unworn sandals then moving his freed hands to the man's groin. He put his mouth to it, at first only tongue then taking as much of him in as he could manage, delighting in the feel of it as it hardened further due to his attentions. Thoughts of what he wanted next were swirling in his mind, but tonight Iruka's pleasure was the only thing that mattered. He slowed his movements to enjoy the other man's frustrated gasps.

"Your fingers…please…inside me.."

Kakashi obliged, slipping his fingers into Iruka's delicious warmth and touching the sweet spot that made him buck and shudder.

"Do you want to come, Iruka-sensei?" He said, lips to Iruka's shaft.

"…Yes.."

"Tell me."

"Make me come, Kakashi-sensei.."

Hearing the words made Kakashi hot enough to burst. He continued, sensing the increasing tension in the other man's body as he started to come, pulsing hot orgasm into Kakashi's waiting mouth. He swallowed and smiled down at an exhausted-looking Iruka, then shifted his body to pin down the other man by his wrists while remaining between his thighs slowly grinding his erection against him.

"What do you want next?" He asked, as the chuunin attempted to bring his breathing back under control.

"I want you." He breathed. "Lick me, bite me, I don't care."

Kakashi set to work on Iruka's body, stroking, touching and teasing every inch until the slightest contact drew orgasmic shudders. Iruka grabbed Kakashi by his shirt and pulled him along until they were face to face.

"Fuck me."

Kakashi practically tore his own clothes from his body, pulled up Iruka's hips and pushed his way inside, suffering from the immediate searing pleasure.

Iruka grabbed at his arms. "Start slowly," He said.

Kakashi moved his hips gently, watching the guilty enjoyment on his lover's face. Any faster, and he suspected he wouldn't be able to hold out very long. Iruka put a hand to his shoulder and Kakashi duly withdrew, allowing the other man to assume a position on his hands and knees. As he slipped back in, he tried desperately to resist the deep, hard thrusts that his body demanded.

"More.." Iruka whispered, face flushed and pricked with sweat. "Go faster.."

"Iruka-sens…I don't know how long.."

"Don't you dare come."

But the words only aroused him more, forcing him to bite hard on his lower lip for distraction. He looked down and admired the figure of the other man; his broad shoulders, narrow waist and taut, muscular back.

"Kakashi, I'm coming…!"

Moments like this would serve him well on long boring missions.

Kakashi released his lip and relinquished any mental restraints as the warmth of the orgasm surged through his body. He collapsed, panting, on top of his lover.

"You were loud," Iruka said, with what sounded like a smile.

"So were you." Kakashi replied, burying his face in Iruka's hair. He withdrew, and they lay side by side on the hard floor. The chuunin rolled onto his front and looked into the jounin's contented face.

"Stay here tonight. All night."

"But before, you were adamant that-"

"I know," Iruka paused and placed a soft tan hand to Kakashi's lighter chest. "I get lonely after you leave."

Kakashi smiled and kissed him.

**3. Players of Games**

Kakashi rested his chin on his palm and watched the other man as he talked. He studied his mannerisms; expressive hand movements conveying his enthusiasm, the tiny dimples that formed in his cheeks when he smiled, the brightness of his deep brown eyes. The man's cheeks flushed and he gave Kakashi a suspicious sideways glance.

"What?" Iruka asked.

Kakashi smiled and took a sip from his cup of sake. "Nothing. Keep talking."

Iruka took another breath and was about to continue his tale of student exploits when a slight blonde woman slipped in between the two of them facing Kakashi. He raised an eyebrow at her, unimpressed.

"Kakashi-san! It's been a while.."

"There's a reason for that." He said icily. Iruka picked up his cup of sake to hide a grin.

"I thought you might like to go out for dinner sometime. My treat."

Kakashi prepared to unleash a venom-tipped rebuttal, but not before Iruka stood and put a hand to her shoulder, smiled and said "Yes, of course he would!" The jounin shot him a look somewhere between shock and disgust as the woman turned to Iruka and patted him on the shoulder.

"It's decided then. Tomorrow at 8 back here." She smiled at Kakashi as she left. "Don't be late!"

Iruka's smile shifted to an expression full of guilty unease as he looked over at an unimpressed Kakashi.

"What was that?" He asked.

Iruka scratched the back of his head. "If people constantly see you with me and turning down dates they might get suspicious."

Kakashi concentrated his glare on the innocent liquid in his cup. "I don't think I care. And I don't know why you do."

Iruka sat back onto the bar stool and looked at the jounin. "I'm.." He started, then lowering his voice further. "I'm not ready for other people to know yet." He looked down at his sandals, which he always did when he felt embarrassed or guilty about something.

Kakashi gave a reluctant sigh and rested his forehead against his palm, tilting his head towards the chuunin and giving him a forgiving smile.

"Alright." He said, reluctantly. "Exactly how far do you want me to go on the date to be convincingly straight?"

Iruka gave him a hard shove.

-b-

"I hope you appreciate how weird it is for me to be dressed by my male lover for a date with a woman."

"Shut up and quit fidgeting."

"You're not jealous at all?"

"Of what?"

"You know, I'm going to be out there all night romancing and flirting with someone who isn't you…I mean, I might remember that I do like women after all and this thing with you is just a brief affair on the other side of the fence."

"I don't think the adjective 'brief' covers affairs that have been going on for months, Kakashi-sensei. Look in the mirror, I think you're done."

Kakashi turned to it and scrutinised his appearance.

"I look just the same as any other day, Iruka-sensei."

"There are subtle differences. You'd better go or you're going to be late."

"Can't I just cancel?"

"Out!"

-b-

Kakashi greeted the woman with a light kiss on the cheek before they were seated. He listened politely as she reminded him about her life as a shinobi, and they exchanged stories of missions. Though the situation was awkward for him, at least the conversation wasn't dry. He occasionally glanced discretely around the restaurant, pleased to see (for Iruka's sake at least) that their ruse seemed to be working. He began to worry about what he'd do at the end of the date. He certainly wasn't going to kiss her. He wondered what Iruka was doing, and realised that he was slightly disappointed that the other man hadn't been even a little bit jealous. Kakashi was notoriously flirtatious, after all.

His eyes widened as Iruka stalked into the restaurant and shot him a quick charged glance, taking a seat in the bar area where they had been the night before. Suddenly Kakashi was quite unable to concentrate on his date, instead watching the man at the bar as he drank, occasionally looking back in his direction. He got up from his seat and went to the bathrooms. Kakashi excused himself from the table and followed him.

Inside the bathroom Iruka was waiting for him behind the door and pounced on him without warning, forcing his tongue into Kakashi's mouth and driving him backwards into a stall and locking the door.

"Iruka..!" He managed before Iruka's mouth was against his again, kissing him hungrily. Kakashi delighted in the sweet taste he had from the spirits he'd been drinking, probably for the courage to do this.

"I lied." He uttered into Kakashi's lips. "I am jealous."

He slipped to his knees and yanked the jounin's trousers and underwear down.

"Iruka..!" He said again, quieted by the pleasure of the other man's warm mouth and hot tongue, offering no resistance. He curled his fingers into the man's vest shoulders and bit down on his lip, hoping desperately that no one else would come in. Iruka sucked hard on his erection and removed his lips from it, much to Kakashi's protest. The chuunin took the jounin's hand and put it to his straining crotch, shuddering at the touch. He looked into Kakashi's face with an exasperated blush.

"Don't think of anything else but me." He said, and disappeared, leaving only a delicate wisp of smoke.

"Kage-bunshin?" Kakashi exclaimed.

-b-

By the time he returned to the date ten minutes had passed, and his date eyed him suspiciously. After they had finished the meal and she had paid as promised, they went their separate ways with no fear of a second date. He returned to Iruka's house as quickly as he could manage for a night of incredible sex, after Iruka has assured him that there would be no more fake dates.

**4. Vulnerability**

The usually quiet mountain forest resounded to the fraught sounds of combat; cries of frustration punctuated by the dull thuds of hurled weaponry.

A sudden explosion disturbed the peace even further, destroying nearby trees in a neat radius and sending a flock of roosting birds screaming angrily into the sky. A man stepped into the newly-formed clearing and leant on his knees to catch his breath. Iruka remembered now why it was so important to train regularly, feeling his muscles protest at the abrupt return to intense physical activity. He straightened and twisted his back, rotating the spine to release built-up tension with a satisfying click and decided it might finally be time for lunch.

The man came at him seemingly from thin air, a glinting kunai aimed for his throat. Iruka caught him by the hand holding the weapon and hurled him to the floor, following the efficient defence with a punishing body blow which, if it had connected, would have meant a swift end for his attacker. His raised fist and stern expression dissolved into annoyance as he looked down into the grinning face of Hatake Kakashi.

"I see you're taking your training very seriously, Iruka-sensei."

"It's always serious when someone attacks you," He said, expression showing no sign of softening. "What do you want?"

"Thought you might need a sparring partner. I brought bento."

Kakashi was pleased that Iruka had forgiven him after the delicious lunch, and prepared to attack with full force. In a different part of the forest Iruka did the same. No holds barred. Kakashi closed his eyes and sniffed the air, hunting for the sweet musky scent he knew so well, pondering lazily what the best tactics would be in this situation. He was never normally fortunate enough to know his opponent so intimately. He breathed in deeply once more and opened his eyes. There it was.

Resting on the broad branch of a tall tree, Iruka considered his options. He was perhaps Kakashi's equal in terms of brute physical strength, but the differences between their abilities as shinobi were vast. They had levelled the playing field by banning ninjutsu, but head on, he knew he would never be able to defeat the Copy-nin. To stand a chance he needed to employ careful planning. The heat and humidity of the forest weren't helping matters, and he unzipped his vest and wafted his shirt for some relief. Then an idea came to him.

Kakashi followed his nose through the tree canopy towards Iruka. He had never fought the chuunin before and knew little of his actual skills, but it seemed like it was too easy. Surely someone like him would know to cover or at least mask their scent. The strength of it told him he was close, and he pulled to a stop behind a tree. He craned his neck to peer around and assess the surroundings, noticing the exploding tag and chakra wire only at the last second. He sprang away from it into the air as the explosion pelted his body with low-velocity bark. Landing easily on the ground, he checked for injuries but there were none. A glint of metal in some nearby bushes caught his eye, and he flattened his body to the ground as the kunai swipped close over him. He got to his feet quickly and jumped high into the air, coming down on Iruka's position. Or so he thought. The only trace of him was his clothes, piled and hung to resemble a figure. _If all his clothes are here,_ Kakashi thought to himself, _that means he's…naked._

Iruka took the opportunity and came at him from behind, swiftly closing ground, his only attire his sandals, hitai-ate and pouch. He swung a hard kick at the jounin but it was intercepted by firm hands and pushed away. He jumped back, landing in a low crouch with his knees spread apart. The other man's responses were slow and distracted, just as he had planned. He allowed himself a smirk, which faded as he saw the conviction return to Kakashi's face. His hands were fast, and Iruka barely had time to dodge as the shirukens sliced into the ground where he had been with a clean metallic sound. He ran at Kakashi again, repositioning himself by moving in a slight arc while dodging or deflecting the other man's attacks. He flung a kunai in the jounin's direction forcing him to dodge. He hadn't noticed that Iruka had followed it with a second, and bent backwards to avoid it. Suddenly, Iruka was above him, silhouetted against the dappled light pouring through the canopy. He felt feet against his chest, driving him to the floor. The chuunin straddled him and brought a kunai down heavily just above his head, parting his thick silver hair.

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to lose." Kakashi said, poring over the naked figure on top of him.

Iruka stood, legs still either side of Kakashi's body, and put his hands on his slim hips.

"It's hot out here," He declared, running a hand over his sweat-slicked chest. "I'm going to cool off in the lake. You coming?"

-b-

Later that day Kakashi caught himself smiling as he remembered the afternoon's events; the seductive glance Iruka had shot him over his shoulder as he slipped into the cool, calm water; the ecstasy of their sex on the grasses of the bank; how his body and soft brown hair had been warm from the sun. It was a bliss like he'd never known before. Before, life had been a chain of grey moments punctuated by unfulfilling encounters. It would never be that way again.

A group of people were in deep discussion and blocking most of the street ahead. Kakashi pushed by, ignoring their chatter until he heard something that cut his soul.

"Yeah, it was Iruka-sensei. Looked like he just misjudged his footing and fell down the stairs."

"Did you see it?"

"Medical nins took him to the hospital. They had to do some work on him at the scene; I think he wasn't breathing. They left in quite a rush."

Kakashi felt as though his insides had been wrenched out. He jumped to the roof and sped to the hospital.

The nurses had told him to leave but he had refused, telling them that he didn't want his friend to wake up alone. He had ignored the rest of their protestations. The hospital was quiet now, the only sounds were the occasional patter of nurses' feet as they tended to patients.

Kakashi stood by the window of the darkened room looking over at the lifeless figure of the man he'd been with only hours before. He hadn't wanted to touch him in case he felt cold. Everyone who looked like that always felt cold. The medics had put him under suspended animation so that his body could recover, which meant that he wasn't breathing. They'd told him that Iruka had sustained serious head injuries and some broken bones during his fall, and though the bones would fix, they didn't know whether he would ever regain consciousness.

_A fall..something so simple. Idiot shinobi. You were fine earlier. Why do I feel so lost? Ah, I see..emotional vulnerability. It's me who's the idiot shinobi._

He walked slowly to the chair at Iruka's bedside and sat down into it, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He looked at Iruka's limp hands; hands that had held his, that had touched him and held him close. He moved a hesitant hand to touch his palm, flooding with relief at the warmth he felt from it. He took it and pressed it to the lips under his mask, reassuring himself that life still resided in the motionless figure. At least his face looked peaceful, and he was in no pain. Kakashi brushed loose strands of hair away from the man's face and gently caressed his cheek.

"Iruka-sensei," He whispered, but there was no reaction. He felt suddenly like something was caught in his throat. "Please wake up. I think I'm in love with you."

Days later Iruka woke groggily to find Kakashi asleep against his thigh.

**5. Icha Icha Iruka**

Iruka sat heavily onto his sofa, folded his arms and glared at the book with contempt. It perched on his coffee table, small and inoffensive with its delightful pink cover, suspiciously well-thumbed.

He wondered why the damn thing was even in his house, let alone why Kakashi still insisted on carrying them around. When questioned he'd been protracted in his response, saying that he didn't really read them any more, just had them because that was what people expected of him. Iruka suspected this wasn't strictly true. Once he'd even tried to read one himself when Kakashi had been in the shower, but it had been corny and predictable and he'd given up after the first couple of pages. He pushed at it with his heel, shoving it to the far side of the table. Surely there were better things to read? Iruka wondered how Kakashi would react if he started reading porn as well, but figured that he probably wouldn't care. The thing that bothered him about it was that (to him, at least) the things they did together in real life were far more hot and explicit than anything he'd come across in the Icha Icha novels, so why would he need them? A thought struck him, and a devious grin stretched across his features.

-b-

There was a brisk knock at the door.

"It's open," Iruka called.

"I guess you heard about the mission." Kakashi said as he walked into the living room, pulling down his mask.

Iruka stood to kiss him and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I saw the briefing papers this morning. Looks very important."

"It's manual labour. Why do I have to play at being a farmer for three days? Couldn't they send anyone else?"

Iruka locked his arms round Kakashi's waist.

"The village is small and badly damaged from the attack. Most of their crops and livestock were destroyed and if we don't help them replace what they've lost, there'll be problems when winter comes. Most of the others assigned under your control are genin or chuunin. There's a small risk that the marauders might return to finish off the rest of that village, so we have to send someone with your level of skills even if we don't think anything bad will happen."

Kakashi remained unconvinced.  
"Besides, it's character building." Iruka smiled.

The jounin shot him a sarcastic glance before slipping his hands down Iruka's back to his firm buttocks.

"Why don't you come?" He asked, nibbling his upper lip playfully.

Iruka closed his eyes as he felt Kakashi's hands slip under his trousers to touch his warm skin.

"Because.." He said, concentrating on the jounin's hands as they wandered round to his front. "Because I need to do things here."

"Really?" Kakashi said, unzipping the other man's trousers and wrapping fingers round his tightening erection.

"Yes…" He managed, as he felt fingers slide down between his buttocks to tease him.

"What things?" Kakashi persisted. Iruka's hands relieved him of his trousers.

"…School things…admin.."

Kakashi removed his hands from Iruka's body and sat back onto the sofa. The chuunin dropped his trousers and straddled him, taking his throbbing erection and easing down onto it. Kakashi kissed him desperately as Iruka moved steadily up and down. His hands found Iruka's shaft, moving vigorously as the chuunin let out soft moans. He let one hand wander away and up the other man's back, enjoying the hard muscular contractions he felt. He reached a patch of skin that was softer and newer than the rest and pressed his fingers into it, remembering that the cause of it and Iruka's heroism had been the first thing that had drawn him to the man.

The chuunin increased the speed and depth of his thrusts, reaching back to touch the spot just behind the jounin's tight balls. He came instantly, hips thrusting hard from beneath as Iruka rode him. Once he had recovered, Kakashi flipped his lover onto the coffee table and pleasured him using his mouth and fingers until he'd satisfied him completely.

"Are you sure you can go a whole three days without this?" He asked.

Iruka put on a serious face and sat up on the table. "Of course." He said, folding his arms.

Kakashi sighed and looked deflated. "I must not be as good as I think."

The chuunin laughed and slapped him playfully on the cheek. "Get dressed, idiot."

After they had re-dressed, Kakashi collected his novel from the floor and put it in his pouch. The look Iruka gave him was not the one he'd expected.

"I'll see you after I get back, then." He said.

"Be careful," Iruka warned.

Kakashi pulled him close.

"Even though there's nothing to worry about?"

"Yes." Iruka held him tightly.

They kissed again, and Kakashi left for the mission. Iruka allowed himself a small secret grin.

Iruka had lied; the mission wasn't character-building, it was soul-destroying. It was hot enough without the manual labour, but they had worked through it, ploughing and planting and digging and sowing and watering until the strength left them completely. The villagers were nice enough, though quiet and traumatised from the attack. The mission was a goodwill gesture to the Wave country, helping them rebuild and recover while the resident shinobi investigated. But there was more work to do than Kakashi had been told, and he was leaning on the Konoha shinobi to get it done as quickly as possible so they didn't stay any longer than they needed to.

The jounin leant his head back against the tree whose shade he was enjoying during his hard-earned break, and thought about Iruka. Then he remembered that he'd been too busy or exhausted even to enjoy his Icha Icha Paradise novel, and pulled it out of his pouch to read. As he opened the book, three small polaroid photographs fell into his lap. He frowned and picked them up for closer inspection, flicking through them once, then twice, then a third time, still not believing his eyes. He was unable to conceal his shocked expression, even under his mask.

_When did he..? How did he..! When?_

He looked through the pictures again, slower this time, taking in all their details. First one; taken from above, shirtless, unzipped, with wandering hand. Second one; on his knees and bent forward to pull his underwear tight over his ass and erection, wrists bound to his ankles, looking extremely needy. Third one; naked and masturbating, about to climax. Suddenly, the heat of the day seemed like nothing compared to the heat of his body.

Later, the members of the extended "group Kakashi" complained to one another about how their leader had come back from his break with renewed back-breaking vitriol, though it had meant that they'd finished their work a day earlier than expected. Even now as they were returning to Konoha he was barking at them to move faster, seemingly desperate to get back to the village as though he'd left a kitchen appliance on.

Iruka had been pleased with the effects of his plan, and declared it in his mind to be a personal victory over the novels, especially after he noticed that the pictures remained right where he'd put them – the page number never changing.

**6. Strict Instructions/Voyeur**

It was the end of another beautifully warm summer's day. Birds sang out high in the trees and on the rooftops while small children shrieked and giggled as they played in the thick grasses under the watchful gaze of gossiping parents. Iruka shut his eyes and lifted his face to the sun, letting the warmth of its rays touch his skin as he walked.

The heat gave way to cool as he stepped into the shadow of his building and began to climb the stairs to his apartment. Suddenly, he was faced with a dilemma. The mountain of theory test papers he was carrying required two hands to hold, leaving him exactly no hands with which to open the door. If he put them down, they'd most likely topple over, so he decided on a risky manoeuvre which involved pinning the papers between himself and the wall while supporting them from underneath with one hand, freeing the other to open the lock. Then he remembered with a sinking feeling that his keys were in his pocket on the other side of his body to the free hand. He reached across slowly, brows furrowed in deep concentration and teased the ring of the key fob to the top of his pocket through the material, looping it over a stretching finger and feeling quite pleased with himself.

The keys slid from his triumphant hand and landed on the floor with a happy jingle. Iruka put his forehead against the wall with an exasperated sigh and conceded defeat, bending to place the stack of papers on the floor while he opened the door. As he did so, a cruel gust of wind destroyed his neat, organised pile and sent papers flying across the walkway. He set his jaw in annoyance and gathered the escaping tests from the floor, re-forming the pile though far less neatly than before. He unlocked and opened the door, picked up the pile and walked into his apartment, shutting it with a swift shove from his heel. Iruka kicked off his sandals and left them as they fell, in no mood to keep tidy, and dumped the messy stack of papers onto his desk giving them a strong glare of resentment.

He rubbed his neck and leaned his head back, thinking to himself about perhaps having a bath before starting marking so that he could relax.

He began to undress as he walked to the bedroom, thinking over the test and where he might have made the questions too hard. As he opened the door he recoiled in surprise at the masked silver-haired jounin perched on the end of his bed, reclining slightly with the ankle of one leg resting on the knee of the other.

"Kakashi-sensei? Why...how are you in here?" Iruka said, expression shifting from shock to irritation.

"Yo, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi's eye smiled.

The chuunin sighed and decided it was going to be one of those difficult days, walking over to kiss the intruder.

"Stop." Kakashi commanded, in a tone of voice that made Iruka obey instantly despite himself.

"Eh?"

"Don't move from that spot unless I tell you."

"What? Kakashi-sensei this is redic-"

"Do exactly as I say, and you'll be rewarded.." Kakashi interrupted, regarding Iruka coolly with one eye from underneath a seductive brow.

The chuunin looked at him with some suspicion but had already begun to blush, which was a good sign.

"Strip."

Iruka rocked backwards slightly, as though hit by the force of the demand from the unmoving man on the edge of his bed. Their gazes locked, Iruka began to remove his clothes, taking each garment off and dropping it to the floor, feeling Kakahsi's eyes roam over his body with each removal. Finally he stood naked, attempting to fight back the blush on his cheeks, wondering what it was that the other man wanted and why he was so eager to obey.

"You're hard already just at the prospect?" Kakashi teased. "I haven't even done anything to you yet."

Iruka put his hands to his hips and broadened his shoulders, looking the other man levelly in the eye.

"Then do it." He said.

Kakashi's eye smiled again as he tilted his head slightly. Hands appeared at Iruka's waist, startling him until he realised they were still Kakashi's.

_So, this is his game…_

The naked copy pressed his cool hands into the warmth of the man's taut stomach and ran them down, following the muscular lines on either side that lead past his hips to his groin. Iruka tilted his head fractionally and reached backwards with one hand to touch the source of the sweet caresses.

"Don't move unless I tell you to." The Kakashi on the bed re-iterated, watching with his chin resting on the knuckles of one hand.

Another copy appeared in front of Iruka, dressed in the outfit Kakashi would have worn when he was in ANBU. The hands of the naked copy behind him pushed fingers down to stroke his balls, pressing his erection between Iruka's firm buttocks. As Iruka's mouth fell open, the ANBU copy took his chin and pulled him into a deep kiss, tongues sliding together and pushing between each meeting of lips. The man opened an eye to glance at the jounin, sitting motionless and watching.

The ANBU copy broke the kiss with a sustained tug on Iruka's bottom lip and grinned, dropping to his knees and biting at the sensitive parts on the inside of the man's thighs making him shudder. The naked copy behind moved his hands to Iruka's chest and pulled gently at his aroused nipples between two fingers. The jounin watched the man in the middle of it intently as he slowly became overwhelmed by the intoxicating pleasure, breathing hard and blushing deeply.

"Iruka-sensei," Kakahsi said softly, drawing his attention. A stopwatch dangled from his fingers, the display showing five seconds and counting upwards. "If you can hold out for ten minutes, I'll fuck you. If not, I'm gone."

The other man's eyes widened in desperation, but before he could protest the ANBU copy put his warm moist tongue to Iruka's head, stroking and flicking over and underneath it, stopping the words in his throat which were soon forgotten. The naked copy at his back bit and licked his neck, pulling his head backwards by his tied-up hair to kiss him. He moaned in ecstasy as the ANBU copy pushed his lips down over his eager erection, torn between his desire for pleasure and his need to fight it.

The ANBU stood and looked into his face and for a moment he thought he had been granted a reprieve, before the naked copy slipped down behind him tracing a warm line with his tongue and drawing shudders as he slowed his movement just below the base of Iruka's spine. Then a little lower; then a little more, forcing him to spread his legs. Part of his mind strained desperately for the caress of Kakashi's tongue across his opening, knowing the luxury of that feeling and what it led to, but another part pulled back from it because it would be too good – the final straw in a situation that was far too erotic for self-control to begin with. He wanted what the jounin had promised him if he was good, if he was obedient – that physical and emotional intensity; to pull at his body and beg him for more. But it was too good…the copies were employing the best techniques Kakashi had all at once and holding back was getting difficult.

"How…how much longer?" He asked, opening his eyes and drawing his lips away from those of the ANBU Kakashi who reclaimed them possessively and then put his mouth again to Iruka's erection.

"Just over three minutes." Kakashi replied breathlessly. The heat and strain of the situation had finally gotten to him, his mask pulled down revealing most of his face to be flushed with pink, his legs spreading as he massaged his erection beneath his trousers.

The sight of Kakashi masturbating only aroused Iruka more, and he decided it was necessary to employ some techniques he'd learned for resisting torture methods.

_Un-sexy, un-sexy…work. Test papers. Test papers falling all over the floor (that works well), classroom full of children, classroom empty of children, his tongue in my mouth, his mouth round my- Oh shit…He's pushing his fingers inside me, touch me there please touch me thereNo! Otherwise it will be over too soon fight it fight it…river. Calm water. Sex on the banks near the calm water on that hot daySHIT! Think of something think of something think…Is he still…don't look, that'll be the end of it…I bet he looksDon't imagine it either! Block them out…his warm, moist mouth, his tongue, his firm touch, the other's fingers fuck it I want to comeNot yet, just a little while longer…I can't hold it any longer, I…_

The stopwatch chimed; success. Iruka relinquished his controls and came hard into the waiting mouth of the ANBU Kakashi, feeling nothing but that orgasmic electricity, all the better for being teased for so long. Kakashi watched him orgasm, letting out loud groans as his body submitted to the pleasure, his delicious naked figure tensing and needing to be supported by the copy behind him as he gripped the hair of the other and held his face to his groin until it passed. Kakashi hadn't expected his plan to work so well against him. It was almost too much to bear.

He cancelled the copies and removed his hand from beneath his boxers, looking at the relieved, quivering chuunin. He had planned to tease him more, to stand near him but not touch him whispering words of seduction into his ear, but the time for that had come and gone. Kakashi wanted Iruka too badly now.

"Come here, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka crossed the room to meet him with a slightly dazed swagger. Kakashi grabbed him and pulled him down on top of him as he lay back onto the soft bed, then rolling over and pinning the other man by his wrists.

Iruka grinned up at him. "Bastard. Looks like you didn't handle that any better than I did."

"Shut up." Kakashi told him, biting at the supple skin on his chest.

Iruka's hands slid underneath his trousers and underwear, gripping his buttocks and pushing his hips firmly against Kakashi's erection.

"I am at your command, sensei." He smiled seductively.

Kakashi stripped and lay down on top of the other man again, kissing him and reaching down to touch him. Iruka spread his legs wider and arched his back as he felt the touch connect.

"You're all wet and ready.."

The chuunin's head tilted back against the bed as he felt Kakashi's wandering, delving fingers build up the tension in his body once more.

"Do I get what you promised me now?" He asked, shamelessly.

"Do you want it so badly?"

"I…I didn't say that…" Iruka protested, blushing again.

"Idiot." Kakashi told him, kissing him and pushing inside into that luxurious, moist warmth.

It felt good. It always felt good, on a level it never had with anyone else. Iruka watched Kakashi's face intently, savouring every micro-expression, every thrust and kiss. He watched the ecstasy and felt the tension build in the other man's body, holding him close as it finally released. The jounin collapsed against Iruka's chest and listened to the slowing, soft rhythm within, remembering that this was how it had been the first time they were together. He scolded his former-self again for leaving this bliss so soon afterwards.

"What was that all about?" Iruka asked him, running gentle hands through his silver hair and teasing out knots.

"Just one of those things I think about when I'm bored," Kakashi replied. "Thought it might be fun to try it out for real."

"Pervert."

Kakashi laughed into Iruka's chest. "You enjoyed it too," He kissed the nearest nipple.

"I wouldn't go that far.."

"I was there, remember?"

Iruka put his hands up to his face and groaned.

"What?" Kakashi asked, propping himself up on an elbow.

"I forgot about my marking."

"Can I help?"

Iruka opened a gap between his fingers and peered out at the jounin suspiciously. "You're actually offering to do work?"

"Of course." The man smiled. "The sooner you're done, the sooner you can come back to bed."

"You have such a one-track mind."

_But then I'm no better…_

**7.**

Iruka was pleased to be outside for a change. The weather had been appalling all week, forcing all the students at the academy to remain indoors during breaks, and that resulted in something not far from what he imagined hell to be - squabbles, bickering and generally over-excited children.

He set a rug on the ground and lay down on it, basking in the dappled light streaming through the trees. He thought about Kakashi and smiled to himself. Those thoughts always made him feel warm in places he didn't before. He'd been in serious relationships before and had cared about those people, but suspected that he'd never really loved them. The wealth of feeling he had for Kakashi was almost overwhelming. He wondered whether Kakahsi felt the same. Iruka knew he was loved, that much was for certain, but he wondered whether Kakashi shared the same depth of feeling he had, or was even capable of it. His smile drained at he thought about the life Kakashi had had, and about how sometimes he would wake up shivering in a cold sweat from something that had tortured him in his nightmares. Things he would never tell Iruka about, simply saying that "It was nothing," and returning to sleep. The chuunin had decided early on that he wouldn't push at such matters, and that if Kakashi wanted to share the burden he would, eventually.

Iruka began to drift off to sleep, watching patches of warm sunlight move over his face through his closed lids, and thinking lazily about wanting this place in time to last forever. The warm lights were suddenly replaced with cool shade, obscured by something. He opened his eyes slowly at first then snapped them open as he saw the sword tip pointed at his throat.

-b-

Kakashi was starting to get annoyed. Iruka was over half an hour late, and he was only ever late when he'd become absorbed in his damn paperwork. He'd probably fallen asleep on it again.

He sat in the living room, trying his hardest not to seem like a needy adolescent desperately awaiting their lover's return, but finding it very hard to keep still.

After an hour had passed he decided to seek the other man out, visiting all his regular work haunts; his classroom, his office in the Hokage's building and then the library, not finding him at any. He tried Iruka's home, but there was no sign of life. He even tried the bars as a last resort, but none of the punters or bar staff had seen him. Perplexed and a little annoyed, Kakashi returned to his own home hoping to see Iruka perched on his doorstep, but not finding him there. Kakashi sat down on it and waited for a while in the cool of the evening. There were many possible explanations, he was sure. Perhaps Iruka had been invited to a friend's house and was unable to think up a valid excuse not to go, and had been unable to tell him about it for some reason. Or perhaps he'd met up with an old lover he hadn't seen in years and they'd gone somewhere to catch up. That thought made Kakashi uneasy and he quickly dismissed it. He surmised that Iruka would come here, to his house, when he was done with whatever it was and so this was the best place to wait for him.

When the morning sun woke him and there was still no sign of Iruka, worries began to seep into his mind. He returned to Iruka's house in case he'd gone back there, and waiting there in an unassuming little white envelope was a note addressed to Kakashi.

Someone had taken him. Someone had come into the village and taken Iruka. Kakashi's hands began to shake as he read the note in full, wanting to be around the neck of whoever had written it. A time, a place; come alone. No time to rouse the Hokage or gather a squad.

-b-

Iruka felt cool rain against his face as he woke. A dull ache in the back of his head reminded him that he'd been concussed, and he opened his eyes to slits to peer at his surroundings. The man who had held the sword to his throat was nearby, perched on a large rock. His sword was unsheathed and by his side, but he didn't seem to be watching too closely. Iruka could just make out the large dark figure of another man further away, standing proud with his hands clasped behind him and his back to them. He realised sluggishly that his wrists were bound at his back in such a way that he would be unable to form seals and that they'd taken his weapons. He cursed himself for becoming so complacent.

There was a neat metallic sound.

"He's awake," The man on the rock said to the other, tapping the flat of the slender sword tip lightly on Iruka's face.

"What do you want with me?" He growled. "You won't get any intelligence out of me no matter what you do."

The figure standing further away let out a small, mocking laugh, jogging his shoulders in his outfit of pure black.

"Such things are irrelevant." He said, words abrupt and spoken in a voice clean like steel.

Iruka looked cautiously over at the swordsman, slowly getting to his knees. At least his feet weren't bound.

"What do you want with me?" He repeated.

"Attachments to other people." The man said. "Meaningless, aren't they?" He kicked a stone forward and watched it as it disappeared below the ground level. Iruka realised they must be on a cliff-top. There was a gentle distant splash as the stone hit water far below. "Never leads to anything but pain and suffering." He flexed his broad shoulders and turned back from the cliff edge, walking in their direction. His face was scarred and warn and contained no warmth as he stood before Iruka, chin raised and body stiff.

"It's not you I want."

The greedy bloodlust on the swordsman's face made Iruka feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Kakashi snuck slowly through the trees to the edge of the forest. The heavy flow of the nearby river was interfering with his hearing, and he had to rely largely on smell. He had recognised Iruka's scent before noticing the others, but now he was close to them he could better assess the situation. Besides the chuunin there were two men, one smelled clean and powerful, the other of sweat and dirt. A master and his subordinate, most likely. He released his sharingan and walked calmly from the forest cover.

"Yo." He announced.

Iruka turned to him as much as he was able.

"Kakashi, get out!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

The swordsman punched him hard on the jaw to silence him, filling his mouth with the bitter metallic taste of blood. The man drew his sword up and ran at Kakashi full pelt. The jounin caught his blade easily and wrenched it from his hands with a hard kick to the stomach, turning it and spearing the man with his own weapon. As he withdrew it, the man let out a visceral scream and clutched the place where the blade had penetrated him, staggering backwards as hot blood pumped through his fingers and stained the grass. Kakashi held the sword with the tip to the man's throat, placing a palm to the butt of the hilt to make a final lunge.

The foundation of his world fell away as he glimpsed on his periphery that the other man was holding Iruka out over the cliff edge by his throat. The sword dropped from Kakashi's fingers to the ground with a dull thud as it bored into his consciousness and paralysed him.

"Please," He said into the stiffening wind. "Don't.."

The man turned his face to him, showing no remorse, only bitter conviction.

"Is that what my son said?"

Kakashi's eyes were wide with fear. He tried to bite back the emotion and stop it overtaking him, but it was no use.

"You don't even remember, do you." The man continued. Iruka began to struggle in his grasp. "It was here. Right here."

The jounin looked around. There was a faint familiarity to the surroundings. And then it returned to him, the dark, stormy night, the weak shinobi they'd easily overcome, and the man who'd been only slightly older than he. How he'd begged for his life but Kakashi had been unable to forgive him for his actions; the ordered rape and murder of a small rival village, and how he'd kicked him backwards off the cliff edge into the raging waters below.

"But after what he'd done.." He said.

The man looked at him angrily and shook Iruka by the throat.

"It doesn't matter what he did! He was still my son! My child!" He paused, glaring at the man gasping for air in his grasp. "It took me so long to find you, took bribery and favours but I found you; living happily as though none of it ever happened."

Kakashi found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Iruka. It was as though all the world had come to a stop and there was only this moment, only the dread and fear in the pit of his stomach, only the cliff and the wind and the drizzle, only the spectre in the dark clothes who was about to kill the man he loved.

"I've had a long time to think about it, Hatake Kakashi." The man said softly, almost dreamily, turning back from what his hand held. "I decided that to return the favour I should take from you what was most important. But you're very secretive, and it took us a long time to figure out what that was. We certainly never expected it to be this man."

Kakashi looked desperately at Iruka.

"Know my pain, Hatake Kakashi." The man smiled, releasing his grip on Iruka's neck.

Kakashi's mind reeled as he watched him, face twisted in shock and turning slowly in the air as he plummeted into the watery abyss. He felt it buckle and fracture as it tried to make sense of the events, replaying them a hundred times, pushing and pulling at their meaning and refusing to accept it. He felt his body move as though responding to some distant command that wasn't his own, feeling his feet pound against the ground and power him towards the cliff edge for what seemed like an eternity.

"IRUKA!" He screamed, eyes searching desperately as his cries echoed across the still forest, for any sign that the other man had survived, searching for any sign of hope but finding nothing except the winds rushing up the cliff face and the raging water far below. Kakashi dropped heavily to his knees and stared wide-eyed into it, tears of shock mixing with the rain falling to the river. His fingers gripped the edge hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

He felt the darkness surge back into his soul and reclaim him from the elevation of love, whispering in his ear and reminding him of his true nature.

The man tilted his face up into the steadily increasing rain.

"You're still thinking he might have survived?" He laughed. "No one could survive that. If he wasn't ripped apart on the rocks the rapids would have drowned him, just like my son." The man slowly closed his eyes. "Consider this karmic justice."

Kakashi stood slowly, shaking with grief and rage. The man's face looked almost peaceful. He walked over to the bleeding swordsman, feet dragging through the wet grass as though leaden and took up the sword once more, pointing the tip to the man's throat.

"What does this man mean to you?" He said, tone deep and menacing.

"Nothing." The dark figure replied, turning to face him. "I don't allow anyone to mean anything to me now. Perhaps a lesson you should take from this." He said, mockingly. "Anything you care about can be used as a weapon against you."

"I've lived that life already," Kakashi said, bitterly. "I know that desolate place where there is nothing but self-pity and self-loathing." He felt the hot tears fill his eyes once more as memories of Iruka flooded his shattered mind.

_His smile his touch his skin his warmth his hair his feel his breath against my skin the weight of his body his face his kindness_

_This peace_

"But for a while I was allowed a glimpse of something blissfully wonderful, something which I won't turn back from and will never regret. That much you can never take from me."

His eyes caught sight of a movement behind the man on the cliff edge, and his hands instinctively raised the sword to arms. He heard the unmistakable sound of chakra moulding followed by a whistling sound as though the air was pierced by thousands of tiny needles. The man began to turn and cried out as they struck him, puncturing his entire body and exiting in bloody trails. As he fell, Kakashi's eyes settled on the figure of the man behind him, drenched and drawing jets of water from the river to support his steps until he was safely back on the cliff.

Iruka collapsed onto his hands and knees from exhaustion, coughing up water that had filled his lungs and breathing shallowly. He lay down on the soft dry grass and stayed there panting, staring at the lifeless body of the man.

Kakashi's mind snapped, and he dropped the sword, running to the other man and gathering him in a tight embrace, half-expecting him to be a figment of his grief-addled brain. He buried his face in Iruka's vest shoulder, overcome with relief.

"Hey, you'll get all wet!" He said, making a weak attempt to push the jounin away.

"I don't care. I really thought…that you…"

Iruka smoothed Kakashi's thick rain-soaked hair.

Kakashi looked over Iruka's shoulder back over the cliff edge. He decided that it was pointless to agonise over whether the relationship put Iruka at risk, because it almost certainly did. But Iruka had decided to be with him knowing this, and Kakashi wasn't going to push him away over something so childish. He was in it for the long run, no matter what the obstacles. Iruka made him feel whole. Knowing the pain of his absence, even if only for a brief moment, had reminded Kakashi of that.

"I feel cold, Kakashi-sensei."

"I'm not surprised."

Kakashi unzipped and removed Iruka's vest and replaced it with his own.

"I'm sorry," Iruka told him, putting a chill hand to his face. "This is all my fault."

"Shut up." Kakashi told him with a smile, and took the chuunin's hand to warm it.

Something slick and red covered his hands. Kakashi brought them up to his face to see them better. They started shaking, and he closed them, looking down at Iruka. He suddenly seemed very pale. Kakashi unzipped the vest again and patted the chuunin's body frantically, stiffening as he felt the warm, thick blood surging from Iruka's punctured side. He lifted the man's shirt to get a better look at the wound as the dread leached back into his veins.

"I think I caught myself on something when I hit the water." Iruka said, trying to move so he could see it. His exertions forced the bleeding further, and Kakashi pushed him back against the ground and held him there.

"Please, try not to move or talk." He said.

He fumbled around in his pouch and vest pockets for anything medical, finding only a few strips of gauze and a plaster. He cursed himself for the stupid macho shit and for not being better prepared. He applied the gauze to Iruka's side and put pressure on the wound, attempting to steady his hands so the other man wouldn't feel them shaking. Despite his efforts, the gauze soaked through with blood in a matter of seconds.

"I'm cold, Kakashi-sensei." Iruka said again, sounding increasingly distant and closing his eyes.

Kakashi slapped him to bring him around, leaving bloody smears on his cheek.

"Stay with me Iruka!" He commanded, expression stern.

He tore his shirt to form strips and tied them tight around Iruka's waist. The man protested at the discomfort, but it had been successful.

"I've slowed the bleeding, you just have to hang on until I can get you to hospital." Kakashi told him.

Iruka was unresponsive.

The jounin slapped him again, but he didn't wake. He checked for a pulse, but found none. A deep panic began to set in as he laid Iruka flat on the ground and set about desperately trying to resuscitate him.

"Iruka!" He called, watching the man's face for any sign of a response. Tears streaked his cheeks and he brushed them away on his arms before breathing air into Iruka's lungs. There was still nothing as he continued pumping his chest.

"Iruka don't leave me. Please don't leave me.."

_Another name carved into stone_

-b-

A sudden commotion at the reception area roused the doctor from her medical textbook-induced slumber, and she ran from her office to find out the cause. A man was standing near the main desk, clutching the bloodied body of another and screaming at the nurses for help. They were useless and floundering, shocked by both the demeanour of the usually effortlessly emotionless jounin and the condition of the patient.

The doctor took control of the situation and pulled a gurney over to the man, asking him to place the patient down on it. His eyes remained fixed on the other man as he told her what had happened, pointing out the wound to his side.

She yelled at a few circling medical nins to bring the Hokage, and with the help of some others began to move the patient to a theatre for preparation and treatment. The jounin gripped his hand and ran along with her, refusing to leave. She asked the medical nins to restrain him which they managed, with some difficulty. A few nurses attempted to treat him but he batted them away, telling them that none of the blood was his. His eyes stared at the disappearing gurney with desperation as theatre room doors shut and blocked his view.

-b-

He ran his fingers over the scar again.

"Ow." The man protested. "That's still new, you know."

"I'm sorry."

Kakashi lay his cheek against Iruka's warm taut stomach and tried to push the memories of that day out of his mind, but they refused to go. He pulled himself up along the other man's body and lay between his thighs, looking into his face.

"What..?" Iruka asked him with a suspicious glance.

"If you'd died.."

"But I didn't." Iruka interrupted.

"But if you had," Kakashi persisted, "I hope you'd know I had no regrets. I don't regret a single moment with you."

"Of course I know that." Iruka smiled. "I feel the same."

Kakashi sat up and climbed off the bed, walking to the bedroom door.

"Good." He said as he moved into the hallway. "Because I think I love you. Would you like a drink?"

Iruka sat up straight in bed, wearing a startled expression.

"What?"

"I asked you if you wanted a drink." Came a distant voice.

The chuunin wrestled himself free of bed sheets and padded hurriedly after the jounin.

"Not that, the other thing!"

**8. Epilogue: Momentary Lapses**

"You should have seen him, it was heartbreaking. He just sat there outside the theatre and waited until it was all over."

"Didn't you tell him to go home and rest?"

"Of course! I offered him a wash and a clean shirt and told him to get a shower, and he took the shirt but refused to leave the waiting area."

"I can't believe it of him, really. He's always so calm and collected."

"Well, it's always this way with lovers."

"What, you think..?"

"The look on his face when Iruka came safely out of the operation said it all."

"I had another date with Hatake Kakashi the other day."

"Oh, really? You didn't mention it!"

"Yeah, and I wasn't going to..it was kinda crap."

The other woman laughed into her beer.

"I think he got bored. Didn't seem interested at all.."

"Well perhaps there's someone else,"

"Why would he agree to go on a date with me if he wasn't interested? Unless he was covering for something…oh, wait…it was actually the man he was with that made him agree to the date."

"Who?"

"Umino Iruka." She paused. "Hey, you don't think.."

"Nah, don't be stupid."

"You're right." She waved a dismissive hand. "Have you managed to get rid of your uncle's dog yet?"

-b-

"Look! Look! There's you pulling your moves on that gorgeous chuunin!"

"Don't say that!"

"What? You were!"

"Oh no, I look dreadful in that one. Look at my hair! Why didn't someone tell me?"

"At least you didn't look as bad as she does. Next one! Next one!"

"Hey, isn't that that school teacher and famous jounin by the bar?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Hmm..they look pretty cosy.."

"You're right, they do."

"Both of you, shut up. This next one's definitely going on my wall!"

-b-

"Are you whistling, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm. Perhaps."

"I never had you down as a whistler."

"Apparently you were wrong, Asuma-sensei."

"Has anything changed recently? Anything you're not telling me?"

"Nope. Why'd you ask?"

"You seem very happy lately."

"Sorry. I'll try my best to be more sombre."

-b-

_He gave that plant to Iruka-sensei? He told me he was buying it for someone special.._

-b-

"Those two seem to spend a lot of time together."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too."

-b-

"Alright, tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"What it is that's making you smile like that all the time."

"Wh-What? Nothing!"

"You're blushing like a strawberry, Iruka-sensei. Tell me."

"There's nothing to tell!"

"Alright, I'll guess. You're involved in a secret passionate affair with someone no one would expect…Oooh I take that expression as a 'yes'!"

"Hey! No!"

"So who is she?"

"Err.."

-b-

_Hmm..it looked like they were about to kiss then..probably my imagination._

-b-

"Look at them."

"What?"

"Look!"

"I'm not seeing anything."

"There. See that?"

"What? It was just a touch."

"You're so blind."

"You don't honestly think that they're an item, do you?"

"I'm thinking if not already then soon."

"Don't be stup…hey, I definitely saw that."

-b-

"I guess it makes sense. It always seemed like Iruka-sensei was the only person Kakashi-sensei was ever actually nice to."


End file.
